The demand for overseas travel of Vietnamese people is increasing rapidly before the peak season of 2026. However, along with the sharp increase in visa applications and tour bookings, many forms of fraud have also appeared.
Scammers often impersonate travel businesses or create fake brand fan pages to approach customers. Some cases also offer "visa guarantee" scenarios, committing to make quick applications or selling "internal appointments" to create a sense of trust, thereby urging people who need to transfer money urgently to book places.
Faced with this situation, experts in the field of visa support services recommend that people be especially careful when applying for visas, especially during the peak tourist season.
Mr. Atul Lall - CEO of VFS Global in North Asia, Philippines and Vietnam - said: "We especially encourage Vietnamese people to apply for visas early to avoid unnecessary risks. Applying close to the schedule not only causes difficulties in the processing process, but also creates opportunities for fraudsters to take advantage of people's urgency.
According to Mr. Atul, many tourists, due to concerns about visa progress, have turned to intermediary services of unknown origin and are easily led by promises of "housing" or "speeding up application processing".
In fact, the visa issuance result is entirely decided by the Embassy or Consulate of the country receiving the application, and no intermediary organization or individual can intervene.
One of the important recommendations for tourists is to proactively prepare documents and submit them early. Many countries allow submitting documents up to 180 days before departure, especially for Schengen countries. Early preparation helps visa applicants have more time to supplement documents if needed, while avoiding time pressure before the trip.
In addition, people need to pay special attention to the process of scheduling appointments to submit applications. Appointment appointments should only be booked through the official website of the application receiving unit or the information portal of the national government that will come. People should not believe in invitations to sell appointments, because this is a common scam in recent times.
In fact, many subjects often advertise having "internal relationships" to interfere in visa results or commit to increasing the visa passing rate to 100%.
However, Mr. Atul Lall affirmed that no intermediary individuals or organizations can influence the visa issuance decision or shorten the review time.
Another sign of fraud that tourists need to be wary of is requesting payment via text messages, social networks or transfer to personal accounts. According to recommendations, fees related to visa applications should only be paid online via the official website or directly at the application receiving center.
In addition, people should also be careful with job or residence offers abroad under the guise of visa services. This is a form of fraud that is increasing in the context of increasing demand for exit and international work.
To limit risks when applying for a visa, experts recommend that applicants prepare complete and accurate documents from the beginning. Information in the declaration such as full name, passport number or date of birth must completely match the original documents. Small mistakes can also cause the application to be returned or rejected.
Card photos used in the dossier also need to comply with the standards of each country, from size, background to face ratio. In addition, financial documents such as bank statements must be verified in accordance with regulations.
Amidst the context of strong international travel demand, people should spend time carefully learning about the visa application process and only work with official channels. In which, VFS Global is a global visa support service provider with more than 25 years of experience, currently a partner of 69 governments. In Vietnam, the enterprise has been operating since 2013 and operates 52 application receiving centers in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.
